By Bob York
Talk about a youth movement: half of this year’s Big Green girls basketball team was probably still homesick when the season began. Coach Darnel Barnes tutored 14 girls this winter, and seven of them were freshmen. And when you combine that with the rest of the roster’s one sophomore, three juniors and three seniors, you should have a pretty impressive nucleus to build around for the next few years.
“With an 8-14 record, we improved on what we did last year,” said Barnes, but he doesn’t sugarcoat the youth aspect, as he quickly added, “I felt we came out on the lower end of what I expected this season. ”
Freshman forward Libby Murray led Deerfield’s Baby Boomers, averaging 10 points and seven rebounds a game, while guards Ali Schulz ’12 and Rosemary Straut ’11, who won this year’s Most Improved Player Award, added nine and seven points a game, respectively. Caroline Ashford, another freshman to earn a starting job at the other forward slot, averaged five points and six rebounds a game.
Two other key contributors this season were guard Laura Whitehill ’12 and forward Sarah Behringer ’14.
“I feel good that we saw a great deal of improvement throughout the season,” said Barnes, “especially toward the end of the season.”
It was during its last seven games that the Big Green posted three of its wins, while dropping a 53-46 decision to Loomis, a tourney-bound team, and a 34-32 setback to Choate on the final night of the season.
This year’s recipient of the Coach’s Award was Kendall Carpenter ’11.